I was recently reading an article in which a man described himself as not being a Biblical absolutionist.  He believed in Biblical principles, yet did not take every last word as law.  Regardless of whether I disagree with him or not, his use of the word absolutionist sparked some thought.  continue reading...

Twitter is an interesting way to interact within a community where common human-relationship dynamics show up and can be optimized.  Twitter is a relevant topic with Family First Entrepreneurs because it allows for inexpensive relationship-based networking and exposure.  It’s critical to understand that Twitter can be a business tool, but if you come to the table of Twitter with continue reading...

Recently I have been working very hard on my relationship with my wife.  I made a decision several weeks ago to come to her in our interactions from the perspective that she is my loving partner rather than my adversary.  I’m happy to report that I have noticed a big change in many ways in our relationship, as a result, and they are all positive. continue reading...

I find it interesting that in both relationships and business the power to walk away allows us to have true clarity.  When we are overly invested, we increase the possibility of making bad decisions.

The answer is loving separation. Simply said, you can still love someone or something with all your heart, but you need to separate yourself from that sometimes-blinding love in order to make sure you’re taking care of yourself with good decisions. continue reading...

Because I choose to look for it, wisdom shows up a lot for me in normal daily conversations.  I strike up conversations with people that often bear fruit.  I to get to hear some great tidbits probably because people in Idaho seem to be quicker to open up and they feel comfortable sharing their thoughts with me.  One came recently from a man I met at a trade show. continue reading...

I was in a meeting the other day with Troy McClain (he was the first season winner of The Apprentice), and he spoke about something he called the “horse pull.” Initially I was confused and he went on to explain that when one horse is in a pulling power contest, it can pull about 4000 pounds by itself. The interesting thing came next: when a second horse pulls with it, instead of doubling the amount to 8,000 pounds, they ramp up to be able to do almost 12,000 pounds together. He said that this is true of dogsled teams as well. continue reading...

One of the things that I have learned to do in my relationships is that I recognize “specialness” in people and I tell them when it happens. Many of us see things in people that we admire, but we rarely tell them, let alone tell them in a way that they really know how we feel. This type of positive affirmation can create an opportunity to deeply touch people and as the book Fish! calls it, “Make their day.” continue reading...

The world of Entrepreneurism is full of salesmanship.  If you are an Entrepreneur and you say you can’t sell, you will always be handicapped in your success.  I am in the process of building a seminar that breaks down sales for those who feel they struggle and want to learn more. continue reading...

I just got off the phone with a man with whom I do business; he was calling to discuss a “fire” that that he had had to put out as a result of one of my people. I found it very interesting after quite a bit of discussion that, although he didn’t say it, he just wanted to be heard. continue reading...

I was recently talking with a guy that I do sales training for and a great topic of discussion came up. This man owns a company with a very large sales force and he is constantly complaining about his employees’ lack of gratitude for him and what he has given them. With all the sacrifices he makes for them, he believes that they at least owe him that. In response to this, I told him that he needed to remember that a gift that is given with expectation of something in return is not a gift, it’s a trade. continue reading...